Pensions for prosecutors will be calculated by the Pension Fund: how it will change their wealth
4 July 16:12
Starting January 1, 2026, Ukraine will change the procedure for calculating pensions for prosecutors. According to the final version of Bill 12278, initiated by Galina Tretyakova, pensions for length of service will be granted only after dismissal from the prosecutor’s office, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The document stipulates that the minimum length of service for prosecutors to receive such a pension will be 25 years, of which at least 15 years must be spent in the prosecutor’s office.
For prosecutors born after January 1, 1986, the right to a long-service pension will be granted only upon reaching 65 years of age. For those born earlier, the retirement age will be determined differentially, depending on the date of birth.
A key innovation will be the transfer of functions related to pension granting and recalculation to the Pension Fund of Ukraine. Previously, such responsibilities were assumed by the prosecutor’s office. All payments will be reviewed automatically every year from March 1, based on a single formula for state social insurance.
If a prosecutor does not have full length of service, he or she will still receive a pension, but in the amount of 60% of the salary, in proportion to the actual period of service in the prosecution.
The procedure for crediting experience in specialized educational institutions will also be revised. This means that it will be possible to obtain insurance experience only by studying at institutions from the officially approved list.
These changes are aimed at making the system of pension calculation for prosecutors more transparent, unified and closer to the national model of pension provision.
Pensions for prosecutors will be calculated by the Pension Fund: what preceded it
In early March 2025, the Parliamentary Committee on Social Policy recommended that the Verkhovna Rada support draft law 12278 in the first reading.
According to the draft law, prosecutors will be able to receive a long-service pension only after officially leaving the prosecution service. It is also proposed to add a new section to the current pension legislation to regulate disability, survivor, and long-service pensions. In this regard, the relevant provisions are planned to be removed from the Law “On the Prosecutor’s Office” to avoid duplication. At the same time, the formula for calculating pensions will remain unchanged.
The Prosecutor General’s Office criticized the proposed changes. It objected to the removal of provisions from the relevant law and also warned against the idea of limiting pension payments until the moment of dismissal and a new mechanism for recalculating them. The Ministry emphasized that such an approach could contradict the decision of the Constitutional Court.
The Ministry of Finance, on the other hand, supported the initiative. They believe that the reform will reduce budget expenditures. At the same time, they note that its implementation will require additional funds to strengthen the role of the Pension Fund.
Read also: Pension indexation: what payments will be increased, when and by how much
Why prosecutors receive higher pensions
One of the most high-profile scandals of 2024 in Ukraine was prosecutors’ “mega-pensions”, which, despite the restrictions in the law, sometimes exceed the maximum amounts several times.
At that time, CENSOR. NET journalists compiled a list of 15 heads of regional prosecutor’s offices who receive the largest pensions. The list includes:
- Stanislav Muratov – 43-year-old deputy head of the Kharkiv Prosecutor’s Office, who received UAH 1,152,155 in pensions in 2023.
- Andriy Kravchenko, 39, deputy head of the Kharkiv regional prosecutor’s office, received UAH 1,015,225 in pension in 2023.
- Oleksandr Filchakov – 45-year-old head of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office. In 2023, he declared 823,071 UAH of pension.
- Kateryna Shevtsova is a 43-year-old head of the Cherkasy Regional Prosecutor’s Office. In 2023, she received UAH 785,435 in pension.
- Volodymyr Lymar is a 47-year-old first deputy head of the Kharkiv regional prosecutor’s office. In his declaration for 2023, he indicated UAH 714,749 of pension.
- Vladyslav Hriuk. The deputy head of the Chernihiv region prosecutor’s office in 2023 received UAH 526,160 in pension.
- Oleksandr Suzyi is a 41-year-old deputy head of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office. In 2023, he received UAH 439,576 in pension.
- Serhiy Spilnyk is a 47-year-old head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Prosecutor’s Office. In 2023, he received a pension of UAH 433,713.
- Andrii Rudnytskyi, the head of the Rivne Regional Prosecutor’s Office, received UAH 424,671 in pension for the year.
- Ihor Sydorenko – Deputy Head of the Sumy Prosecutor’s Office. He received UAH 406,224 of pension in 2023.
After a wave of public outrage, the situation led to the resignation of Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin. However, even this step did not resolve the key question: how exactly does such a situation arise and who is responsible for it.
The downside of judicial practice
As the Censor.net investigation revealed, the main scheme is the successful use of loopholes in the legislation. We are talking about provisions that allow prosecutors with disabilities – in particular, those who received the status after passing the MSEC – to apply for recalculation of pensions according to the rules that were in force before 2015.
Back then, prosecutors could retire and receive payments of 80-90% of their last salary. All possible bonuses were taken into account: for length of service, academic degree, rank, work with state secrets, intensity of work, and special conditions of service. In fact, there were dozens of different surcharges, which sometimes doubled the base salary.
After the pension reform, these rules were revised. The maximum level of pensions was limited to 60% of earnings, and the maximum amount of payments was limited to UAH 29.2 thousand. However, as it turned out, many prosecutors are seeking recalculation of pensions based on the old legislation, in particular, when it comes to the status of a disabled person.
Key elements of the scheme
Court practice plays a crucial role here. As a rule, prosecutors’ claims are satisfied. Decisions are made by courts of various instances, sometimes even without the presence of representatives of the Pension Fund. Or the fund deliberately does not appeal these decisions, in fact agreeing to return to the old rules.
A particularly popular tactic is to choose the “most favorable month” – the period in which the prosecutor received the largest payments, for example, due to business trips, participation in special investigations, or other temporary allowances. This figure is recorded in the court decision as the basis for pension accrual. As a result , actual payments can reach 70-100 thousand hryvnias per month.
The government’s position: reform or compromise
The Office of the Prosecutor General has recognized the existence of a systemic problem. However, officials emphasize that the current system is the result of conflicts in legislation and insufficient control over the actions of the MSEC and courts. At the same time, civil society organizations and legal experts are demanding a review of the pension mechanisms for prosecutors. In particular, in terms of exceptions that open up opportunities for abuse.
Financial risks for the budget
According to specialized economists, the total budget losses from inflated pensions can reach hundreds of millions of hryvnias annually. Maintaining only 100 prosecutors with “mega-pensions” of UAH 70-100 thousand per month requires more than UAH 100 million per year. And this is without taking into account indexation and new lawsuits.
The question remains whether the new legislation will be able to stop the practice of judicial manipulation of pensions, or whether the scheme will continue to exist, but in an updated form.
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